St Jamess Church — Castledermot

St. James' parish church lies on what was probably the site of a pre-Norman monastery. It includes Romanesque, thirteenth, seventeenth and nineteenth century elements. The only surviving element of the Romanesque church is a portion of the W gable with a round arched doorway of two orders of triangular voussoirs with a triple row of mouldings giving the impression of chevron ornament. The door jambs have low, rounded mouldings, and are probably of twelfth century date. During the thirteenth century the church was expanded towards the E when a new nave with an aisle at the S was constructed. Of this, the plastered arcade of three pointed arches survives, forming the S wall of the present nave. A splayed window (possibly originally round) at the E has been altered and may be entirely modern. The church was rebuilt in the seventeenth century when the nave arcade was blocked and the N wall was constructed. The round headed windows with internal splays and possibly the chancel arch date from this time. The present chancel and the W wall of nave date to the nineteenth century. The nave was in ruins in 1630 although the chancel was still in repair. The nave may date to 1650-83. (Bradley et al. 1986, vol. 2, 96-9)   The Romanesque archway, only remain of the original twelfth-century church, is a national monument in state care, no. 471, though the rest of the current church is not. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 5 November 2015   Date of revision: 13 October 2025